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Gladiolus Amicitia’s prowled these woods for decades. After all, he’s cù sith, Barghest - one of the Fae, of the Unseelie Court, descended from the wild things that used to prowl Solheim. His family has been at this for a long time, really.
Ever since Ardyn Lucis Caelum struck a bargain with the old Barghest king, Gilgamesh Amicitia, the Beast of all Beasts, the Amicitias have watched over the Lucis Caelums from the shadows, always making sure the little tiny human royals are able to live and thrive as they desire it. They live different lives compared to the Fair Folk, the humans do. As his father explained, humans live more carefully because they're so aware of their ability to die more easily. That's why they need to be cared for and gently protected, the way you would with a pet that likes to get into trouble.
It's meant to be secret, the watching is. Mainly because most of the royals have long since forgotten the pact their King made for them, thousands upon thousands of years ago with the help of his beloved queen Aera. It hasn't stopped the Amicitias from skirting around it. Gladiolus remembers hearing rumors that his father often sneaks in to have conversations with Regis, Noctis' father, and makes Regis think it was all a dream at the end of every conversation.
Of course, Regis had stopped filling out his dream diary in much detail about... what was it, a year or two back? And he always seems to glance out of the corner of his eye into the shadows, where Clarus stands, to smile briefly.
But Gladiolus is already outside the mold of a traditional Fae Shield of the King, so he knows what he can skirt past and what he can't. There's still a reputation he has to uphold, a legacy his family has continued for generations. His father already gets whispers and stares for his unofficial friendship with Regis. So he's determined to stick to the shadows, to stay silent, and to let this weird little brat he's made to watch over do his thing.
And then Noctis goes ahead and nearly throws himself into a raging river trying to catch a fish with his bare hands.
Gladiolus is acting before he thinks, stepping out of his beast form in the shadows and into a more humanoid form, grabbing Noctis by the back of his shirt and yanking him up. Gladiolus finds himself yelling before he can think: "Damn it, think before you act, don't make my job harder!"
Noctis flinches, turns around and hollers, tries to punch Gladiolus in the face even as Gladiolus tosses him aside onto dry land, and oh, this tiny little human is working his very last nerve, because Gladiolus lets out a decidedly inhuman snarl at that.
Noctis is breathing heavily. "W-What are you? Who - you saved my life! What was - Who? Why?"
Gladiolus feels his temper clawing at his very soul, thrashing and hungry. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and recites mentally the very things he was taught by his father, and grandfather, and the souls of all the other Amicitias before him. Discipline, duty, loyalty. Discipline, duty, loyalty. His pointed fangs grit along each other, and he wills himself into patience.
"Look, princess, I'm your minder. You ever wonder why that one kid who tried to pick on you for being quiet in class a year ago stopped?"
"Because the Crown threatened him? I dunno."
"Because I threatened him. You ever wonder why that wound you got on your knee when you were ten healed quicker than other wounds you have?"
"Because of healing potions?"
"Because I pumped some of my magic into you alongside the healing potions."
Noctis shakes his head. "So, what, you're saying you're my guardian angel or something? Because I don't believe it."
Being compared to an angel. An angel. Beasts below, this little human's going to be the death of him.
"I just saved your life," Gladiolus scoffs. "Shouldn't you be a little more grateful about that? Actually, no, don't thank me. Show your gratitude some other way." He's not going to be demeaned with some half-hearted 'thanks' like he's a servant. He's Fae nobility. And this little human is human nobility, sure, has magic, sure, but in the end this human is still just a human.
"Some other way?" Noctis says, before he goes quiet and starts digging through the pockets of his clothing.
Gladiolus steps up closer. Man, he knows humans are smaller than Fae, but still, Noctis feels so small compared to him. He's watching Noctis' every move - the little crease in his brow, the way he bites his lip as he seems to grab hold of something deep in his pocket, and pulls out... a gemstone. It glints in the light, seeming to glow slightly amber. "Here," Noctis says, "for you."
The gemstone isn't perfect. It's got worn edges, and it's clearly seen better days. But there's something of power in this thing that's being granted. Something that Gladiolus can vaguely appreciate. So he takes the gemstone into his hand, puts it in his own pocket, and goes: "... Good enough."
Noctis pauses. "What's your name, big guy?"
Really? Really? Gladiolus has to fight not to raise his metaphorical hackles at this. Names don't mean the same thing to humans the way they do to the Fae. And Gladiolus, well... he's a proud man. He's not going to just give Noctis his full name and give Noctis all the power. That name privilege needs to be earned. Even if Noctis gave him a pretty gemstone and expressed some form of appreciation for the fact that Gladiolus just saved his life. And even if Gladiolus thinks it's cute when the little human looks all foc- No, he's not thinking that. Nope. That thought is being exiled from his head. He is banning all thinking of thoughts like that.
So Gladiolus thinks of his favorite words in the human tongue - glaive, brutal, best, words he remembers his friend Ignis mentioning - and he goes: "You may call me Heliotrope."
"That's long. Can I just call you Helios? Fitting name for an angel." Noctis bargains, and Gladiolus sighs, not even willing to go through the argument that correcting the whole 'angel' assertion would bring. "Yes, princess, you may."
"Why do you call me princess like that?"
Gladiolus folds his arms, staring down at Noctis. "Beings like me think a lot of your gendered terms are silly. Plus, it's 'cause you're not much of a princely type, from what I've seen."
"Hey!" Noctis says petulantly, though he knows it's 100% true.
"Well, I'm going to get back to my business." Gladiolus sighs. "Try not to get into too much trouble again, okay?"
"Fine."
And Gladiolus melts back into the shadows, to guard Noctis in silence once more.
Noctis is a persnickety little human, Gladiolus is beginning to find. He likes playing strategy games of all kinds, and fishing, and sneaking out to the village where he can talk with his peasant friend Prompto.
Funny enough, Gladiolus' friend Ignis seems to have taken an intrigue in Prompto, who leaves Ignis offerings in exchange for food made slightly better than normal. Prompto isn't exactly a good cook, so the food ends up tasting decent. Not great - as Ignis said with a smile, "He needs incentive to better his cooking craft, after all" - but the guy's getting better, and at least he isn't poisoning Noctis with the food that he makes for the prince.
Gladiolus and Ignis observe outside in the snow, peering into Prompto's cabin in the woods where Noctis sits, listening to Prompto's stories of life in the kingdom, the inventions he's making, and more.
"It does make me happy, Amicitia," Ignis says, having casted a spell to muffle the sound of their voices, "to watch little Prompto at his work. He holds a talent for lighting up a room, even when his thoughts rush everywhere and his heart hangs low with the feeling of quieting woe."
Gladiolus looks over at Noctis. Noctis is gesticulating all over the place. His hands are flapping slightly in the air as he jokes with Prompto about Prompto's newest invention, a device that can apparently capture an image of a moment as if creating an instant painting. There's a bright smile on the boy's face, and Gladiolus thinks not of the sun, but of the stars - of joyous feasts underneath them, dances held by his mother and father as the cosmic lights glitter overhead. Prompto is a sun in Ignis' eyes, but Noctis, Noctis is a star all his own, in some sense. A miraculous and beautiful thing, made by- Nah. Nah, he said, no thinking thoughts like that.
He looks over at Ignis once again, refocusing, and he can see the way Ignis' eyes soften seeing Prompto's rambling. Ignis is a tired man at the best of times. He overworks himself, pushing himself to the limit for those around him. But in seeing Prompto, his tightly knotted shoulders seem to ease, and a calmness descends upon him that seems to wipe away the overactive, racing energy around Ignis.
... it makes Gladiolus think, if Ignis can find similarities in himself to somebody as different from him as Prompto, then is there something similar he can find of himself in Noctis?
Gladiolus swears Noctis is injuring himself on purpose to find more excuses to talk to him. First it was that broken bone he got when he'd "accidentally" tripped down the stairs in some far-flung wing of the Palace, and now it's here in the woods again, a skinned knee right by a waterfall with a little cave behind it.
"What did I say about not making me work harder than I have to, princess?" he growls, hands glowing with amber energy and tipping slightly with claws as he smooths away a wound.
"You really aren't human, are you, Helios?" Noctis says.
Gladiolus blinks, eyebrows raised in a "no shit" sort of expression.
"Yeah, I'm not."
"Then what are you? I mean, there were those fangs you showed last time we talked, and angels don't have claws."
Gladiolus snorts. "How would you know angels don't have claws? You never met one."
"Would you give me a reward if I guessed?" Noctis asks, smiling.
Gladiolus pauses before putting his face in his hands, rubbing it gently over his face. His claws lightly scrape over his face. "You're such a mess. Very well. Three guesses, little human. Go."
"You're a demon," Noctis blurts out.
"Nope. Where's the horns? Don't have 'em."
Again, that cute expression of focus settles onto Noctis' face. He sits up a little straighter. "Werewolf."
"Getting warmer, not quite the same."
Noctis looks Gladiolus right in the eyes. Gladiolus can't help but be struck by the vivid blue of his eyes, the focus in them, the purpose. There's a myth amongst the humans that looking into the eyes of a Fae puts you in the power of the Fae, but Gladiolus almost thinks that sometimes it's the opposite way around - humans have a different sort of eye color and iris shape than Fae do, some sort of charm all their own. It brings to mind the gemstone that Noctis gave him on their first meeting. The beauty lies in the imperfection. It's different, it's imperfect, but the beauty comes from flaws, flaws a Fae like Gladiolus wouldn't have...
"... you're one of the Good Folk, aren't you? A faerie."
Gladiolus chuckles. "Last guess, best guess. Yeah, you're right."
"Are you from the good court, or the bad court?"
Gladiolus sighs, shaking his head. "That's a myth. Seelie can be as cruel as anybody, and Unseelie like me can be as noble as any saint. Besides, I wouldn't hurt you. Took an oath against that."
"An oath? Sworn to whom?"
Gladiolus knows, knows, knows what he's about to say isn't ideal, but he says it anyway: "To my ancestors, to guard you."
Noctis claps his hands together, smiles a cheeky little smile, slightly gaptoothed and full of triumph. "Then you are my guardian," he teases, "my guardian Unseelie."
"Perceptive little shit," Gladiolus sighs, though the comment doesn't have much heat behind it. He's allowed to find Noctis a little endearing sometimes, okay, it's like when a cat gives you a pleading look when it's demanding to be pet, it's that kind of cuteness.
Noctis pauses. "You said you'd give me a reward if I guessed right."
Shit, right, a reward. What would he have to offer... Gladiolus rubs his hands together, thinking before he hums and pulls out something from his pocket that Ignis made, a ball of crystal. "This right here, it can show you a fantasy you can temporarily enter. A dream that you can make reality. This one here, it's programmed to be a ball. I used to use it a lot to practice for ball etiquette, make it a little fun by imagining I'd find somebody I loved to dance with."
He never found anybody he loved to dance with, really. Nobody came to mind, it was like trying to find some other half of his and he could never just click. Sure, he'd find pleasant people, friends to dance with, but when he left the vision, he'd feel empty. But maybe Noctis would put it to better use than him.
Noctis takes it gently in his hand and smiles, tucking it in a pocket.
"Thank you, Helios."
Gladiolus chuckles. "That's rude as hell to say to one of the Fair Folk, y'know."
"Well, you'd take it in stride. Not like you can be mad at me for long," he says, winking at Gladiolus, and goddamnit, why's the little human have to be so charming.
That night, Gladiolus has a dream. He's stalking amongst the crowd of masked faces, back in the lush ball setting in that crystal. He's got a mask with grand horns upon it, dressed in black and gold, colors of House Amicitia. He's more in his beast form than human, walking on two paws instead of two feet, a tail swishing from his side, thick fangs in his mouth and intricate tattoos swirling out on his body where fur doesn't cover, save for his face, with its glowing eyes.
And in the crowd, he sees Noctis, and his breath is all but taken away.
Noctis is dressed in Fae finery, a deep blue tunic and trousers decorated with Faerie gemstones that gleam like the stars in the sky. They're arranged in constellations on his outfit, and a silver and sapphire-laden crown sits upon his head, shaped as if it were a flower crown. Noctis' look is so sincere, so captivating, so utterly human... and he smiles as he approaches Gladiolus, smiling up at the taller, stronger, more beastly Barghest as if he were looking at the most beautiful being in all the world.
"Helios," he says softly, "would you have this dance with me?"
Gladiolus chuckles. Damn humans always know how to get their way. It's a dream, it's not real, he can let himself think and breathe, for once.
"I would have this dance with you," he admits in sincerity, and holds out a paw-claw for Noctis to take.
The two dance the night away, Gladiolus holding Noctis strong and safe in his arms, the two laughing, and when Gladiolus wakes up, he feels a different sort of ache, a longing.
Noctis has trapped him, beguiled him, made a fool of him... and what scares him the most is, Gladiolus doesn't even think he's mad or upset about it.
When Gladiolus appears next, it's to Noctis, who has pricked his finger on a needle that he throws aside.
"What's it now, princess?" Gladiolus grumbles - or, at least, tries to grumble.
"There's something I want to give you," Noctis admits, a softness to his tone. He's looking away, around Gladiolus, as he fiddles in his pockets and pulls out a necklace. It's got golden skulls on it, an X in the center. A few drops of Noctis' blood stain it, making the necklace gleam ever brighter in the light. From the looks of it, it appears to have been made with magic inside - some form of strength enhancement. "My dad gave this to me. Said it was important, that I should give it to somebody I felt safe with. That it's a sign of Lucis Caelum favor. Would you have this, my guardian? Would you..." He pauses, swallows a lump in his throat. "... would you have me?"
Gladiolus pauses as the realization gobsmacks him. All the little injuries he'd made as excuses, the longing looks Noctis would give him, the dream that -
That hadn't been a dream.
Gladiolus lets out a shocked bark of laughter. "You would choose a Fae as your loved one?"
"Yes."
Gladiolus rubs a hand over his own face. "You don't even know my name."
"I wouldn't pressure you to say it until you felt it was right. I trust you."
"I'm a... this is not my true form. I'm a beastly thing, with paws, claws, fangs."
Noctis doesn't waver a bit. "I saw it in the dream sphere you gave. I chose you then, I'll choose you now."
"This will be the end of your bloodline, I... don't you want some girl to love and care for?"
Noctis huffs, shaking his head. "I like women, sure. But I like men too. And there's ways to magickally produce a child, too. The Rogue did it with her lover. It wouldn't be the end of your bloodline. I'm not budging. Take me or leave me, propriety be damned, you... You've been there for me even when you think I didn't know. And I know."
Gladiolus lets out a shuddering breath. "Can't get anything past you, hm? Tricky little human."
Noctis smiles that same smile that has made Gladiolus stop and stare, again and again. "I'm always a lil' smarter than I let on."
"Proud little shit," Gladiolus sighs, yet even now, he pauses.
There is a beat of silence as Gladiolus steps closer, letting his form sink into that same, beastlier one that he'd had in the dreamsphere, a big paw-claw coming up to gently, partially cup Noctis' cheek.
"... If you should agree to be my human, Noctis Lucis Caelum, then I should agree to be your beast. The name I was given at birth would be Gladiolus Amicitia, descended from Gilgamesh Amicitia, first beast-Shield of your bloodline... and I would give my discipline, my faith, my loyalty, and my heart to you, if you would allow me."
Noctis nods, taking the necklace and slips it over Gladiolus' neck.
"I would allow you. Always, Gladio."
The two rest their foreheads together, and Gladiolus, for the first time, feels like he's found his other half, his better half, in another being.
The talks that followed between the two lovers and Clarus and Regis were complex, but eventually, a peace was found. Such a wedding would be unprecedented, but would go a long way in affirming the peace between Fae and humans. Gladiolus enlisted Ignis as his best man, and Noctis enlisted Prompto as his. It was in these preparations that Ignis and Prompto realized their earnest love for each other as well, a happy surprise to all.
The first photos ever taken were of the wedding between Gladiolus and Noctis - Noctis, dressed in that same starry outfit he'd worn in that dream, and Gladiolus, resplendent in his full monstrous glory, gold skulls and an X glittering across his neck like the sun itself.